Vehicle-tongue support.



S. R, HOGSETT. VEHICLE TONGUE SUPPORT. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30. 1916.

1,217,764. 7 Q Patentd Feb. 27,1917.

attorney SAMUEL R. HoesnTT, or I-IUNTERSVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA.

VEHICLE-TONGUE surroia'r.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Application filed August so, 1916. Serial No. 117,677.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL R. 'Hoesnrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at I-Iuntersville, in the county of Pocahontas and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-'longue Supports; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apperta ins to make and use the same.

This invention relates to vehicle tongue supports-and more particularly to a mowing machine tongue support. 1

T he principal object of the invention is the provision of a support consisting of a rod hinged to the vehicle tongue whereby it may be swung from an inoperative to an operative position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a hook on one end of the supporting rod whereby the latter may be detachably engaged with a projection at the forward end of the tongue to support and retain the supporting rod in a plane beneath the tongue or in an inoperative position.

A further object of the invention is the formation of the hook in angular relation to the supporting rod so that the loop or back portion of the hook extends forwardly of the supporting rod when it is arranged in substantially vertical supporting position, so that the point of the hook will not catch into the ground by a forward movement of the vehicle tongue after the rod has been dropped to an operative position.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a stop lug at the hinged connection of the supporting rod with the vertical tongue, whereby the rod will be rigidly held in a substantially vertical sup porting position.

With these and other objects in view as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction, the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the accompanying claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of the end portion of a vehicle tongue showing my improved supporting rod attached thereto and arranged in inoperative position.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the supporting rod in an operative position.

Fig. 3 is a detail elevation; showing the hinged connection ofthe rod with the vehicle tongue, and

Fig. 1 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Referring more particularly to the drawings the reference character 1 indicates the forward end portion of a vehicle tongue, and for the purpose of illustration I will refer to it as the tongue of a mowing machine. Hinged to the under face of the tongue 1 is a supporting rod 2 which is bent at right angles at one end to provide a hinge portion 3 that extends through and is pivotally mounted in the 100134 of a hinge strap 5 that is secured to the under surface of the tongue .1 by screws or any other suitablefastening means 6.

The hinge portion 3 extends through and beyond the loop 4 and is then rebent to form a stop lug 7, which is disposed in the same plane with the hinge portion 3 and at right angles to the supporting rod. When the supporting rod is swung from the inoperatlve position shown in Fig. 1, to the operative position shown in Fig. 2, the stop lug 7 will be brought into contact with the hinge strap 5, thus forming a stop to retain the supporting rod in a substantially vertical position, and to prevent the latter from swinging rearwardly of the tongue and allowing it to sag down.

The opposite end of the rod 2 is formed with a right angular extension 8 that is rebent to form a hook 9, which is designed to detachably engage a projection 10 secured to the forward end of the tongue 1 in order to retain the supporting rod in a plane beneath the vehicle tongue or in other words secure and hold it in inoperative position so that .it will be out of the way of the horses that may be arranged on either side of the tongue.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings the supporting rod is inclined downwardly from its hinged connection with the vehicle tongue toward the forward end of the tongue a distance equal to a little more than the depth of the hook 9, so as to enable the supporting rod to be moved upwardlyto disengage the hook from the projection 10 to permit of the rod being swung downwardly to an operative position.

By the arrangement of this hook with V respect to the supporting rod and the vehicle tongue, it will be apparent that it forms a foot for the supporting rod when it is in an operative position, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. It is also to be noted that the back or forward portion of the hook extends in a direction forwardly of the supporting rod so as to permit it to freely and readily slide over the ground, without the liability of catching into the ground or any obstructions thereon, should the vehicle tongue be moved forward by the horses attached thereto.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that I have provided a novel form of support for a vehicle tongue which may be readily and quickly manipulated to support the tongue in a substantially horizontal position above the ground in order to remove the weight of the tongue from the necks of the draft animals that may be hitched thereto. After the supporting rod has been swung to a supporting position, the draft animals may be readily unhitched from the vehicle and removed without the liability of the tongue sagging down to a position near the ground.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of construction and the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the device which I believe to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that such changes may be made when desired as are in the scope of the appended'claims.

l Vhat I claim is 1. The combination with a vehicle tongue, of a projection extending from the forward end of said tongue, a supporting rod hinged to the tongue, and a hook formed on the opposite end of the supporting rod and adapted to be engaged over the projection on the end of the tongue to support the supporting rod in an inoperative position, said hook serving as a foot for the supporting rod when arranged in an operative position.

2. The combination with a vehicle tongue, of a projection extending from the forward end of said tongue, a supporting rod hinged to the tongue, and a hook formed on the opposite end of the supporting rod and adapted to be engaged over the projection on the end of the tongue to support the supporting rod in an inoperative position, said hook being formed at right angles to and adapted to extend forwardly of said supporting rod when the supporting rod is an ranged in operative position, said hook also serving as a foot when the supporting rod is in an operative position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL R. HOGSETT. Witnesses S. L. BROWN, B. M. YENJER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

